FAQs

AFO - Anesthesia Finance Office
AP - Accounts Payable
ATG - America To Go
DIB - Declaration of Incomplete Backup (This form is no longer being used. Refer to the DMR form)
DMR - Declaration of Missing Receipt
CGA - Contracts and Grants Accounting (formerly EMF, Extramural Funds)
DFP - Dept ID-Fund-Project
ITFS - IT Field Services
PP - Per Person
SCM - Supply Chain Management (formerly Campus Procurement and Contract)
SIF - Supplier Information Form
SOM - School of Medicine
TIN - Taxpayer Identification Number
W9 - Form with Taxpayer Identification Number

Q: What is the new COA (Chart-of-Accounts)?
A: The new Chart of Accounts have replaced the previous Dept ID-Fund-DPA-Fund Year-SpeedChart-Program Code chartfields we used.  Please visit the Controller's Office website for the new COA crosswalk, current updates, and training schedule. 

Q: My PDF size exceeds 5MB, and MyExpense does not allow me to attach the file as one PDF. What do I do?
A: If you are unable to attach your backup because it exceeded 5MB, you can attach part of the backup to one of the expense transactions and the rest to another transaction. You can also resize the PDF; see here for instructions: https://acrobatusers.com/tutorials/how-to-resize-pages-in-a-pdf-file/. Note that a PDF may be a large file if it is a picture taken from a camera or a camera phone.

Q: What is the difference between "Meal(Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)" under Travel Expense and designations such as "Breakfast" "Lunch," and "Dinner" under "Entertainment/Meeting Expense?
A: If the payee is on travel status and consumes a meal by him or herself, choose "Meal(Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)" as the proper identifier under section 1, Travel Expense.  
A: If the meal is for a business meeting, choose the type of meal, i.e. "Dinner- Entertainment/Mtg." as the proper identifier under section 2, Entertainment/Meeting Expense.

Q: How do I breakdown the lodging  expense?
A: Follow the below process:

• Under Travel Expense, select Lodging
• Enter in all the required fields: Expense Type, Transaction Date (check out date), Vendor (if available), City (if available), Payment Type (default as Out of Pocket), Booked Through Connexxus, Amount (total hotel bill), and Comment (if additional information needs to be addressed)
• Click on Itemize 
• Enter in all the required fields: Check-in Date, Check-out Date, Number of Nights, Room Rate, and Room Tax (all taxes can be combined if more than one tax)
• Click on Save Itemizations 
• If room rates are different for each night, amount can be adjusted after the rate for each night is populated
  • Amount can be changed line by line – select the line and adjust the amount
  • Note that if total request does not match with the amount entered in the beginning, an error message will be prompt on the line for this expense type

Q: What is the mileage reimbursement rates?
A: Effective January 1, 2023: The reimbursement rate for the use of a private automobile for University business travel will increase from 62.5 cents a mile to 65.5 cents a mile.  Please refer to the SCM News & Updates website for recent updates to the mileage rate. 

Q: What information do I need to redact?
A: Please reference the data privacy- quick reference for a list of information.

Q: Why did Accounts Payable (AP) ask me for a credit card/debit card statement when I included a Declaration of Incomplete Backup (DIB) with the backup?
A: The DIB is an internal form not recognized by AP. This is to be used as a last resort document. Please comply with AP's request and provide the preferred documentation. Kindly advise your clients (i.e. Faculty, residents and colleagues) that the DIB is not to be used unless all other forms of documentation are unavailable. Effective immediately, please use Declaration of Missing Receipt.

Q: Some of the BearBuy functions are different; what happened? 
A: New Bear Buy enhancements are released periodically. Please visit the Supply Chain Management website for updates.

Q: Some of the BearBuy links on the AFO Wiki home page do not work; what do I do? 
A: If the link does not work, go to the link: http://supplychain.ucsf.edu

Q: What is America To Go? 
A: America To Go is a punch-out catalog in BearBuy for purchasing food for business meetings and other campus events. This catalog contains menus from the University's preferred local restaurants and caterers for pickup and delivery to campus locations.

Q: I have a rush meeting, can ATG accommodate this?
A: America To Go Customer Care is skilled in finding caters to meet both rush orders and custom orders. Contact America To Go's customer care at (866) 284-8646 to find an ATG cater that can accommodate your order. Work with the caterer on the order. Caterer will upload the order to ATG. An email will be received once the order appears in the ATG punch-out. Select the order and the order details will automatically load (time/date/items ordered). For the instructions for delivery, note that the order was placed outside of ATG and was delivered. For details, please review the ATG Post-Event Process Guide.  Please note that the Post-Event Process should be used sparingly and only when necessary. Whenever possible, catering orders should be placed in advance of an event. 

Q: How can I change my ATG order once it's been approved by BearBuy?
A: First , determine if the caterer can accommodate the request by calling the caterer or America To Go customer care center at (866) 284-8646. As a best practice, always document any changes made by emailing AFO for audit purposes. If the change results in a price increase and your invoice amount exceeds the purchase order amount by 10 percent of $500 (whichever is less), then the invoice will require your department Match Exception Handler's review. 

If the change results in a price increase, you should re-calculate the per person cost for the meal. If the cost exceeds the per person meal limits, you must obtain Exceptional Approval for your purchase. Exceptional Approval is usually facilitated using the Supplemental Form.

Q: How do I check the status of my order?
A: Please feel free to call ATG at (866) 284-8646 to check the status of your order or call the caterer directly. In the ATG Punch-out, click on "MyOrders" in the top right hand corner of your screen. You will see the status of each order. D= Draft order not submitted, S= Sent to caterer, and X= Order cancelled. **Please note that caterers will not receive your order until your department's Meeting & Entertainment Approver has approved the Requisition in BearBuy.

Q: When do I use Supplemental Form? 
A: Supplemental Form is used if the Meeting & Entertainment expense requires exceptional approval. It is also to be completed and submitted with every Facility Rental purchase order payment. Once the PO is issued. Please see the event flowchart for further information.

Sponsored – Contracts and grants awarded through, and formally accepted by, the Office of Sponsored Research for research, training, or public services. Examples: R01, clinical trials, FAER, etc.

Non-sponsored –Funds awarded by UCSF such as the Chancellor's Office, Dean's Office, Department, as well as from the UCOP; sometimes from the other UC campuses as long as the main or prime funds are not coming from other sources (Government - Federal/State, Private, Industry, or Non–Profit Organizations).
Examples:  REAC, Academic Senate, SOM Bridge fund, Department Supported awards such as RFA and FTE, discretionary funds, etc.

Department Funds –  Funds owned by the department.  Example: Education Mission, Central Admin, SFGH Pro Fee, etc.